CVE-2025-58840: Custom Team Manager Stored XSS Vulnerability

CVE-2025-58840 Overview

CVE-2025-58840 is a stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Custom Team Manager WordPress plugin by Ibnul H. The flaw affects all versions of custom-team-manager up to and including 2.4.2. It stems from improper neutralization of user-supplied input during web page generation, classified under [CWE-79]. An authenticated attacker with low privileges can inject malicious scripts that execute in the browsers of users who view the affected pages. The vulnerability has a changed scope, meaning injected payloads can affect components beyond the vulnerable plugin itself.

Critical Impact
Authenticated attackers can inject persistent JavaScript that executes in administrator sessions, enabling session theft, privilege escalation, and site defacement across WordPress installations running Custom Team Manager 2.4.2 or earlier.

Affected Products

Custom Team Manager WordPress plugin (custom-team-manager)
All versions from n/a through 2.4.2
WordPress sites where the plugin is installed and active

Discovery Timeline

2025-09-05 - CVE-2025-58840 published to the National Vulnerability Database
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-58840

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability is a stored Cross-Site Scripting flaw in the Custom Team Manager plugin for WordPress. Stored XSS occurs when user-supplied input is persisted in the application and later rendered in a web page without proper sanitization or output encoding. In this case, the plugin accepts input from an authenticated contributor-level (or higher) user and writes it to the WordPress database. When another user, typically an administrator, loads a page containing that input, the browser executes the injected script.

Exploitation requires user interaction, and the impact crosses a security boundary because the injected script runs in the context of a privileged user viewing the page.

Root Cause

The root cause is missing or inadequate input neutralization in the plugin code paths that handle team member data. The plugin fails to apply WordPress sanitization functions such as sanitize_text_field(), wp_kses_post(), or esc_html() to fields that accept user input before persistence and rendering. As a result, HTML and JavaScript payloads pass through unchanged.

Attack Vector

An attacker authenticated to WordPress with permission to interact with the Custom Team Manager plugin submits a crafted payload containing JavaScript into a plugin input field. The payload is stored in the database. When a victim, typically an administrator, loads the page that renders the stored data, the injected script executes in the victim's browser session. The attacker can then steal authentication cookies, perform actions on behalf of the victim, or pivot to further compromise.

See the Patchstack XSS Vulnerability Report for additional technical context.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-58840

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected <script> tags, onerror, onload, or javascript: handlers stored in Custom Team Manager database entries within wp_postmeta or plugin-specific tables
Outbound HTTP requests from administrator browsers to attacker-controlled domains shortly after loading team management pages
New administrator or editor accounts created without a legitimate audit trail
Modifications to WordPress theme or plugin files following administrator sessions on affected pages

Detection Strategies

Inventory WordPress installations and identify sites running custom-team-manager version 2.4.2 or earlier
Audit plugin database entries for HTML tags, JavaScript event handlers, and encoded script payloads
Review web server access logs for POST requests to plugin endpoints containing suspicious payloads
Monitor browser Content Security Policy (CSP) violation reports for inline script execution on WordPress admin pages

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable WordPress activity logging to capture user actions, content changes, and privilege modifications
Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with rules for stored XSS payload patterns
Alert on administrator session anomalies such as unusual IP addresses or user-agent changes
Correlate WordPress logs with endpoint telemetry to identify follow-on activity from compromised admin sessions

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-58840

Immediate Actions Required

Identify all WordPress sites running Custom Team Manager and inventory installed versions
Deactivate the Custom Team Manager plugin on affected sites until a patched version is confirmed installed
Audit existing plugin data for previously injected payloads and remove malicious content
Rotate WordPress administrator credentials and invalidate active sessions on any site suspected of compromise

Patch Information

At the time of publication, the advisory lists affected versions from n/a through 2.4.2 without a specified fixed version. Monitor the Patchstack advisory and the WordPress plugin repository for the release of a patched version, and update immediately when available.

Workarounds

Deactivate and remove the Custom Team Manager plugin until a patched release is available
Restrict contributor and author accounts to trusted users only, and enforce strong authentication with multi-factor authentication (MFA)
Deploy a WAF ruleset that blocks XSS payloads targeting WordPress plugin endpoints
Implement a strict Content Security Policy that disallows inline scripts on WordPress admin pages

bash

# Example WordPress CLI command to deactivate the vulnerable plugin
wp plugin deactivate custom-team-manager --all